Engine



A. S. KENMONTH.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-19.1920.

1,405,224 v r Psitented Jan-81, 1922.

I2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

/7/2*07LS h/nma 77/!7INVENTOR.

A. S. KENMONTH.

ENGINE.

7 APPLICATION FILED ARR-29,1920,

. Patented Jan. 31,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

0 INVENTOR. 0

@Mww

ATTORNEY3' UNITED STATES PATENT- oFFICEJ'L ALTON s. KENMoN'r'H, or LOS'ALN'GELES, CALIFORNIA, "'AssIGNoRTo JOHN GARRIGUES, ,oF LOS anGELEs, oAnIroanrA.

ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern .7

Be it known that I, ALTON S. KENMONTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements. in Engines, of which the following is j a specification.

This invention is an engine of "the in ternal combustion type, and has for its object to provide an improved construction wherein the necessity for movable inlet and exhaust valves is eliminated, the cylinders of the enginerotating around the axis of the main shaft t ereof and passing successively beneath arrangedjinlet and I exhaust ports.

It is a further object of the invention-to provide improved Connecting means between the piston rods and the main .sh aftof the engine for rotating the latter.

,"Further objects of the invention will be readily understood from "the following description of r the .accompanying- 'drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through an engine constructed in accordance .With my invention.

Fig; 2 is an end: elevation of the same. I

"Fig. 3 is a transverse seotion'takenon the line 3- 3 of Fig. land partly broken away.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary.longitudinalsection'jtaken on the line of Fig' 1.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated .a four cylinder four cycle engine is shown. The engine housejdlwithin a cylindrical casing 1 comprising aside wall 2 and end walls 3 and 4 suitably secured thereto. This casing is suitably mounted, preferably, so that the sidewall 2 extends vhorizontally, the supporting means for'the casing being shown as comprising brackets 5. The main'shaft 6 of the engine extends lengthwise through the'casing' 1 medially thereof "and be journaled at the ends of'the casing, preferably, in antifriction bearshown as ball bearings f7 1 carried in su'itable'bearing housings '8, preferably se- "cured to" the outside of the end walls the 'caslng.

instance four in'numjloer, are formed in a cylinder block 9 mounted upon the main shaft 6. The cylinders are shown at 10 arranged in diametrically opposed pairs and equi-distance from one another. The cyl n The cylinders ofthe jengina' i-n the present Specification ofLettrsPatent. P te tedfian. 31,1922,

. Applic ationnled Apr i129, 19 20. Serial N amaeos.

ders extend the entire length of the cylinder block and areopen at their respective ends. The outer endfl l of the'oylinde'r block abuts against one end of the, enginecasing,

,say, the end l, a leak proof bearing surface 5 ,0

12 being provided between the contacting' surfaces of the cylinder block and the end of the, engine casing. .The opposite end '13 .615 the cylinder block is,preferabjl'y, approximmly midway-Of the thofthe eng ne casing and, preferably, extends radially to' the side wall of the engine casing, the peripheral edge of this end of the cylinder block having a bearing 14: in theside wall 2 The Y '15, aspace 16 being, preferably, provided surrounding thelcylinde r walls between the latter and'the outer casing of vthegengline and between the cylinder walls and the axial bearing of the cylinder block which;

is journaled upon the main shaft of the eng ne; The vspace '16 surrounding theengine cylinders forms an air "jacket, this jacket being closed at its respective ends'by jthe endsfofthe cylinder block, and a suitable inlet port 17 and an outlet vport 18 jacket for the proper cooling offth 'g i cyhnders. r .7

A bearing 'hub 19, preferably, integral withj'the cylinder block 9 extends from the' end ll3 thereof to a point spaced from the end 3 of. the engine casing; This'bearing hub is" provided with radiallyextending arms 20 equi-distantly spaced, in thepresent instance four-in number, toprovide oneof the bearlng arms for each of the engine upon each of these bearing arms and are connected withthe respective pistons of the engine cylinders so as, to be rotated 'by-the reciprocation of the pistons. For this purpose the rotatable members. may comprise pinions 21 journaled on the ends of arms 20 as byrbe'ari'ng bolts 22 so as to be rotated upon axes extending radially from the main shaft 6 of the engine.

the engine are shown at 23 arranged to ieciprocate within the respective cylinders and are eachprovidedwith a piston rodQ l, these piston rods being journaledat their outer ends to the respective pinion 2 as same,

The pistons for the respective cylinders of walls of the engine cyinders are shown'at cylinders. Rotatable members are'journaled Q1 V 25, the parts as thus described being so arranged that reciprocation of the respective pistons will rotate the respective pinions 21.

A driving connection is provided between pinions 21 and a stationary member shown as a bevel gear wheel 26 fixed upon the inner surface of the end wall 3 of the'engine' casing as by bolts 27. This gear wheel is arranged between the end of the bearing hub 19 and the end wall of the engine casing, the

teeth 28 of the gear wheel meshing with the teeth 29 of the pinions 21, so that when the pinions are rotated the bearing hub 19 and the cylinder block 9 integral therewith will be rotated upon their longitudinal axis. The rotatable member thus formed is fixed upon the main shaft 6 of the engine so that the latter will be rotated with said rotatable member, the means for fixing the rotatable member upon the shaft being shown as comprising keys 30 and 31 arranged respectively between the main shaft and the bearing hub 19 and the cylinder block 9 at opposite ends of the engine casing.

By'the construction as thus described it will be seen that the bearing hub 19, the cylinder block 9 and the operatingconnections between the cylinders and the arms 20 of the bearing hub 19 form a unitary rotatable member fixed upon the main shaft of the engine, this rotatable member having a bearing in the side wall 20f the engine casing approximately midway of the length of neath said ports, the ports being, preferably,

elongatedcircumferentially ofthe end 4 to a length several times the diameter of the cylinders, and, preferably, of a transverse width equal to the diameter of the cylinders.

These two ports are arranged in successive quadrants of the end wall 4 and are each of such length as to be disposed entirely within their respective quadrants. The inlet port 32 is arranged in a quadrantof the end 'wall'in advance of the exhaust port 33 in the direction of rotation of the engine as indlcated by the arrow in Fig.2. I

The means for firing the explosive charge within the cylinders is arranged on the end wall 4 in the quadrant thereof diametrically opposite the quadrant containing the inlet port 32, such firing means being, preferably, ar-

ranged at the beginning of said quadrant in the direction of rotation of the engine.

, The firing means, preferably, comprises a usual spark plug, and inorder to retard or advance the spark several spark plugs are,

n partin preferably, provided as shown at 34, 35 and 36, these plugs being received through'sultable apertures in the end wall 4 with their inner ends positioned in suitable recesses 37' provided in said end wall, the spark plugs being arranged circumferentially of the end. wall slightly in advance of one another, so that by causing the spark to be produced in the cylinders from various ones of the spark plugs the timing of said spark may be. ad justed relative to theposition of the pistons within the cylinders.

, port 33 is a closed wall, so that during the 'movement of a' cylinder through said quadrant theend of the cylinder will be closed to provide for the compression of the charge within the cylinder. The inlet and discharge ports 32 and 33 are connected to the inlet and dischargepipes 39 and 40 respectively, these pipes being, preferably, provided with enlarged ends 41 fitting over the elongated J ports 32 and 33; The inlet and discharge 1' pipes may be securedin position by suitable bolts 42 extending through the rims ofJthe enlarged ends of said pipes into the end wall 4. I I T In operation the pistons within thecylinders are each arranged for a suction stroke whilepassing the quadrant of the end wall having the inlet'po'rtformed therein; for a compression stroke while p'assing the next adjacent quadrant; for, a driving stroke 05 while passing through the next adjacent quadrant in which the spark plugs are lo cated; and for anexhaust stroke cluriiigpassage through the next adjacent quadrant in which the exhaust portiis positioned. By 10' this arrangement it will be seen'that succes sive pinions 21 will be rotated by the piston rods connected thereto when their respective pistons successively pass through the driving quadrant of their cycle of operatiomand 15 through engagement of these successive-lymtating pinions with the stationary bevel. gear 26 the rotatableparts of the engine will be rotated upon the axis of the main shaft 6. I

The usual lubricating oil for the movable parts of the engine may be supplied .to the space wlthlnthe casing of the engine between the end wall 13 of the cylinder block and the end wall, 3. of the engine casing the.

leak proof bearing '14 betweenthe wall .13

and casing2, preventing leaking oflth e oil into the jacket 16. p i Various changes may be made without deg. from thespirit of theinventio'n as claimed. H0

What is claimed is;

1. .An engine comprisinga rotatable member having a cylinder therein; a piston in said cylinder; an operating connection between said piston and said rotatable member for rotating the latter; a casing forming an end wall for said cylinder; and a plurality of firing means in said end wall arranged so that said cylinder will pass said firing means during rotation of the rotatable member, said firing means being arranged. one in advance of the other, said firing means adapted to be selectively fired for retarding or advancing the firing of an explosive charge within the cylinder.

2. An engine comprising a rotatable member having a cylinder therein, a casing including an end plate received flush against the end of said cylinder, said end plate having an inlet and an exhaust port arranged to successively communicate with the entire bore of said cylinder, said end plate between said communications closing the end of said cylinder, and manifold upon the exterior of said end plate leading from said ports.

3. An engine comprising a main shaft, a cylinder revolving with the same and having a piston, a driving connection between the piston and said shaft, an end wall for said cylinder, and ignition means carried by said end wall arranged whereby said cylinder isname to this specification.

ALTON S. KENMONTH. 

